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Monday, October 24, 2011

AJN Letter to the Editor

In “Where’s Nursing at the WHO?” (Editorial, July), Mau­reen Shawn Kennedy excellently reiterates how important it is for nurses to fill critical leadership roles yet sadly acknowledges that even the World Health Or­ganization (WHO) has failed to reinstate the position of chief nurse scientist (since 2009). Currently, there is legislation in Congress—HR 1119, the National Nurse Act of 2011—to el­evate the role of the chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service to be full time and re-­named “the National Nurse for Public Health.” Increasing visi­bility of this prominent nurse leader will highlight nursing’s roles in health promotion and other public health career paths.

It’s also likely to strengthen re­cruitment to public health nurs­ing, a critical need discussed in publish best practices for all organizations to access. Pamela J. Duffey, BSN, RN Fort Worth, TX the Viewpoint column entitled “A Public Health Nursing Shortage” in this same issue of AJN. This legislation demonstrates how a nurse leader can contrib­ute to health policy and planning decisions to meet the recommen­dations of the Institute of Medi­cine’s 2010 report, The Future of Nursing : Leading Change, Advancing Health. Equally impor­tant, HR 1119 would “provide leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Of­fice of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, including providing repre­sentation for the Government of the United States at the [WHO’s] Global Forum for Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers. . .”

For more information, visit the Web site of the National Nurs­ing Network Organization: http://nationalnurse.org. Susan Sullivan, MSN, RN, PHN Santa Ana, CA

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Archived post

Monday, October 10, 2011

Healthy Lifestyle Results in Increased Longevity

A new study published August 18th in the American Journal of Public Health and released by the CDC affirms that living healthy will increase your life span. Just implementing four healthy behaviors-not smoking, eating health, exercising regularly, and avoiding excessive use of alcohol results in a 63% decrease in death from any cause compared to those individuals who practiced none of these healthy habits.

From this study, “Compared to those who didn't engage in any of the healthy behaviors, those who practiced all four healthy habits were 66 percent less likely to die early from cancer, 65 percent less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and 57 percent less likely to die early from other causes.”

Americans are taking heed to the fact that the one habit that offers the most protection from dying young is not to smoke. While the number of smokers has decreased significantly, only a small percentage of Americans practice all four healthy behaviors.

The language in HR 1119 The National Nurse Act of 2011 calls for the National Nurse for Public Health to engage nurses and health professionals to volunteer and help to replicate successful programs of wellness and prevention, such as those being implemented by the Medical Reserve Corps. There are many great materials available, but the messages need to be delivered on the local level in a more effective manner and in a way that addresses the diversity within the local community.